BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – Trade Day has come and gone, and the Hartford Wolf Pack has been tweaked for their last 17 games.
The biggest news affecting the Wolf Pack was that Morgan Barron was traded. He was moved to the Winnipeg Jets for Andrew Copp. The Jets then assigned Barron to the Manitoba Moose (AHL). Barron’s younger brother, Justin, was also moved yesterday. He went from the Colorado Avalanche to the Montreal Canadiens and was assigned to the Laval Rocket.
During his stay in Hartford, Barron performed very well, but with the glut of forwards in New York, he didn’t have much of an opportunity with the Rangers.
The organization vacillated between taking on the 6’4 player as a forward or center, having done both in Hart City.
OTHER MOVES
Barron’s being moved follows President/General Manager Chris Drury, pressuring Barron to leave Cornell early for two years. Instead, Barron stuck to his guns, earned his degree, and after a season-and-a-half, they shipped the sixth-round pick out.
Also moved was Anthony Bitetto. The defenseman was sent to San Jose in a deal for the oft traveled Nick Merkley, who was assigned and will start in Hartford, where he will wear #39.
Merkley is on his fourth NHL organization. He has seen time in San Jose, Arizona, and New Jersey. Merkley has talent but has yet to blossom and develop the consistency he was projected to have.
Bitetto was a good soldier this year. He played with everybody and was the defensive mentor playing with the young prospects, including Braden Schneider, Zac Jones, and Nils Lundkvist. He will likely get more quality time with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
MERKLEY’S ARRIVAL SENDS A MESSAGE
Acquiring Merkley also was a message to Vitali Kravtsov (skating somewhere in Russia). It was also a message to Lauri Pajuniemi, who has played one game in a month while ostensibly recovering from his upper-body injury suffered in Springfield on February 4th.
None of the Rangers’ assets, Lundkvist, Jones, Jarrod Tinordi, Tim Gettinger, Jonny Brodzinski, and Matt Robertson, were moved at the deadline. So, the Wolf Pack still has a glut of defensemen with too few spots to play in.
The Rangers added another D-man in Brandon Scanlin, who left the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) a year early. He has been assigned #44.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch now likely has the roster that he will try and cement a playoff position with, barring any last-minute moves at Monday’s AHL Trade/loan deadline.
UCONN PLAYERS ON THE MOVE
A few moves involved UCONN players, including senior center Jachym Kondelik, the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Year. Konderlik signs a two-year Entry-Level Contract (ELC) deal with the Nashville Predators, who drafted him. The contract pays $925K-NHL-$80K-AHL. He will join two other Huskies with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL), former Husky teammate goalie Tomáš Vomáčka, and from the UCONN AHA years, former Hartford Wolf Pack captain, Cole Schneider.
Boston College’s Jack McBain, the son of former New Haven Senator and NHL’er Andrew McBain, has signed with the Arizona Coyotes after Minnesota traded his rights. However, he won’t be staying at BC. Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin has tendered an ELC deal to UCONN’s Vladislav Firstov.
The question now is, will ELC deals be offered to UCONN returnees Ryan Tverberg (Toronto Maple Leafs), Artem Schlaine (New Jersey Devils), Nick Capone (Tampa Bay Lightning), and Chase Bradley (Detroit Red Wings) too? Or will they be offered deals to sign and then head to major junior?
After his fifth collegiate year with NCAA independent Long Island University Sharks, former Husky Jordan Timmons signs with the Idaho Steelheads (ECHL).
One time Bridgeport Sound Tiger Travis Hamonic heads to play on his third team this year. He was traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Ottawa Senators. He also spent some time with the Abbotsford Canucks (AHL) there this season.
Alex Biega (Salisbury School) heads from the Toronto Marlies (AHL), where he played on Sunday afternoon, to the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL).
Ten more collegians, totaling 62, nine from Division-I and one from Division-II, have gone pro, including Sacred Heart University’s (AHA) Rourke Russell, who heads to the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL) and the Firstov as mentioned earlier.
Former Sound Tiger who played the last five years in France, Oliver Labelle, announced his retirement from the game.
Frédéric Létourneau (Hotchkiss School) returns home after being released by Idaho and is claimed on waivers by the Trois-Rivieres Lions (ECHL). His father, Daniel, was a player for the NCAA Division-II University New Haven Chargers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
